abolition

UK: /ˌæbəˈlɪʃ^ən/ US: /ˌæbəˈlɪʃən/ ,(ab′ə lish′ən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ab•o•li•tion /ˌæbəˈlɪʃən/   n. [uncountable]

1. the act of abolishing or the state of being abolished, esp. the legal termination of slavery in the U.S.

ab•o•li•tion•ism, n. [uncountable]
ab•o•li•tion•ist, n. [countable] , adj.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ab•o•li•tion  (ab′ə lish′ən), n. 

1. the act of abolishing:
   the abolition of war.
2. the state of being abolished;
   annulment;
   abrogation:
   the abolition of unjust laws; the abolition of unfair taxes.
3. American History the legal prohibition and ending of slavery, esp. of slavery of blacks in the U.S.

• Latin abolitiōn- (stem of abolitiō), equivalent. to abolit(us) effaced, destroyed, past participle of abolēre (compare abolish) + -iōn- -ion
• 1520–30

ab′o•li′tion•ar′y, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1., 2. annihilation, eradication, elimination; nullification, invalidation, revocation, repeal.

Antonyms

• 2. establishment.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

abolition / ˌæbəˈlɪʃən/ noun

1. the act of abolishing or the state of being abolished; annulment
2. (often capital) (in British territories) the ending of the slave trade (1807) or the ending of slavery (1833): accomplished after a long campaign led by William Wilberforce
3. (often capital) (in the US) the emancipation of enslaved people, accomplished by the Emancipation Proclamation issued in 1863 and ratified in 1865

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin abolitio, from abolēre to destroy

ˌaboˈlitionary adjective

ˌaboˈlitionism noun

ˌaboˈlitionist noun , adjective